Operation: Dragonskin (Casual Science Fiction Reboot)
I tried this one a couple of months ago, and while we got started smoothly, we just didn't have enough people to continue. Now that there's been a bit of time, it's about time for a fresh start.
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You are dead.
When you were alive, you were a soldier. You fought well and valiantly for your life, for your country, for the survival of your very species in a war against an enemy from beyond the stars. But in the end, when you died, there was nothing left of the body. An empty casket was buried. You had gone to a better place. That was what the government wanted your loved ones to believe.
It was a lie.
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In 2020, the Kora'ai fell from the sky. Their ships had been observed via satellites and telescopes for years. We knew they were there, but it was only then that they chose to arrive. Diplomacy was attempted, but the language barrier proved to be too thick for either side to cross. So humanity left them alone, and were treated in kind. They stayed away from populated areas, and we left them alone. For a while, it worked. But there can be no real diplomacy without communication.
The bombs fell. None of the world's leaders would admit to dropping them; no one dared to. To do so would incur the wrath of the UN. But when they did, the tentative peace that had formed in the intervening months shattered like a laboratory wing made entirely of glass. Humanity and the Drakes, as humans would often call them (see below) went to war. And in spite of Earth's greatest efforts and superior numbers, they were losing, on an impressive scale. In an attempt to more quickly bring an end to the fighting, a group called EXTRA has approached the UN with a proposition. And the UN agreed.
That's where you come in.
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Not much is known about the organization known only as EXTRA; you can only think of two things. One, they're funded by the highest level of several world governments. Two, they brought you back from the dead. You don't know how, but they did. However, you're no longer entirely yourself. You have been resurrected in the body of a Drake.
The Kora'ai are a bipedal, reptilian sentient species with an uncanny resemblance to what humans would call dragons. In height, they average approximately two and a half meters and have a thick, scaly hide that can withstand most punishment including (but not limited to) low calibre gunfire, temperatures up to and exceeding 300 degrees Celsius, or below -60, and what a human would consider lethal blunt trauma without any form of exterior protection. Their hands have four long, taloned digits, including an opposable thumb each. Their digitigrade feet are similarly arranged. The most interesting feature of these sentients by far are the large, leathery wings attached to heavily knotted muscles that act as extra arms and make them capable of self-propelled flight, though their size would argue against it. A long tail allows them to maintain balance while standing, and acts as a rudder during flight.
EXTRA wants you to infiltrate the ranks of the Kora'ai. They want you to send back as much information as possible with regards to tactics and technology. It isn't going to be easy. But they aren't sending you in alone.
